1.05.2010

prendergasted

People arrive at this blog through all kinds of random Google searches, but without a doubt, one of the most interesting came through yesterday: prendergasted. A few tweets (thanks to @WrongingRights and @ithorpe!) later, I learned that "prendergasted" is a reference to Peter Prendergast, a Jamaican soccer referee who nullified a Belgian goal in a 2002 World Cup match against Brazil despite the fact that nobody else believed Belgium had any faults in scoring the goal. Brazil, of course, won the entire tournament.

So apparently, "prendergasted" is a term synonymous with getting screwed by a referee. But for those of us who are interested in international humanitarian and development aid and advocacy - and who are familiar with the antics of another Prendergast - I'm guessing that "prendergasted" has a whole other set of meanings. What definitions would you use?

How about: your cellphone service was disconnnected and your voicemail replaced by a message explaining that it was done to bring attention to issue of conflict minerals in Congo. (I didn't make this up - in part based on advice I heard given to school studients on how to bring attention to conflict minerals in the Congo)